Friday, 15 June 2012

I think you know why I don't have a picture today but I will have on Monday! Thanks to everyone that has helped to get my blog back on track. I would have missed writing it a lot and I'm looking forward to sharing my dinners and yours.

I worried yesterday that I would never reach enough money to buy a Mary's Meal kitchen in Malawi (31 seconds!) but we have raised a total of £45,889.46 which is more than one kitchen! It could be many kitchens or one kitchen feeding many children for years.

Congratulations Veg! I don't think there is anything Bute council could have done to generate more interest in your terrific blog than to ban the fantastic things that you do! We love what you do from Juneau, Alaska!

Am so glad you are back, and your photos will be resuming on Monday...as a former school cook I am very suprised by some of the meals you received...let's hope your blog improves meals for children all over the world!!!

Unfortunately, as a school dinner lady I am not. I see people on here commenting on the meals - "not enough protein", "portions too small" etc etc. They clearly have no idea what children are being fed day in & day out at schools across England & Scotland. Councils have outsourced school meals provision to outside companies who want to make a profit. And how do they do that when a meal costs only costs around £2? By using cheap stuff.

I am so so pleased you are allowed to carry on with your photographs! I am a photographer myself and believe it is your right to be able to photograph your food, you were never showing meals in a bad light, even so, it is what you were being given at school, anyway, the food looks great and very interesting! Happy photographing! Congratulations on all of the fundraising and the pageviews!! http://www.melissacontreras.co.uk

I'm so happy for you and your dad. I'm so proud of what you're doing; I'm teaching English in Slovakia and I've told several classes about your blog; they think it's really interesting and were upset to hear you might have to stop. I'm excited to read more in the future!

Am so glad your blog will be resuming....as a school cook I am surprised by some of your meals....but am delighted that the standard is improving....let's hope your blog improves food for children all over the world!!!

A big THANK YOU to you. I hope you realize that you have accomplished so much more for your cause (Mary's Meals) than a person two or three times your age. Way to go VEG. You are responsible for these kids getting food and an education. You might be helping future Albert Einsteins, or Jonas Salks make it to adulthood. Good on you girl!

Awesome!Martha,when I read what had happened I ran to visit your blog and found that fortunately everything has been resolved!continue in your work and show everybody what can do a little girl 9 years old in the Internet age!I hope your dad will continue supporting you and your blog!A big hug from an italian boy!

Well done! That's around 7 kitchens already, never mind 1, and I imagine you'll get a lot more donations yet - twitter and the other networking sites have exploded. Jamie Oliver was tweeting about you - that's when you know you've made an impact! You're a remarkable young woman doing a very important job - I look forward to hearing your name on the news in ten years time - although if this is what you can achieve at nine, maybe I won't be waiting that long! Good luck with your future blogging and charity work Martha, and learn from this - a lot of good friends shouting loud enough really can make a difference.

We have all been talking about you at work today. So inspiring, for someone so young to be completely dedicated to blogging and doing it so well! I'm so happy you can carry on doing what you enjoy and it's fantastic you have raised so much money. Good luck, I will now be a regular reader :) Anna

You are fantastic! So is your Dad! Keep up the good work, you are an example to us all. And your pictures are brilliant. You, a 9 year old school girl, have done more for a worthy cause than many of us ever will. You and your parents must (and should) be very, very proud. xx

I have just been sharing your story with my boyfriend who can't believe your only 9. You should be very proud. You write beautifully and we wandered what you want to do when you leave school? Defiantly a journalist in the making.

£46,448.46 and counting. That's a kitchen and 3686 pupils' food for one year.

Mary's Meal said they would use it for a kitchen in a school with 1963 children (see: http://www.marysmeals.org.uk/martha/ ), so please keep this up until we get at least £70.012.3 (1963 x £10.7 x 3 + £7000) so the school will get a kitchen and food for the next 3 years to come!

Greetings from Kiel, Germany (where the Kieler Woche - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_Week - just is about to start)

I'm a mum of five posting from Norway (although I am English). We don't have school dinners here but my boys used to have school dinners in the UK. I'm pretty surprised at a lot of your pictures and I bet your Dad was too! Well done you on your blog, keep up the good work. I'll be reading every day :))

I'm so happy that you keep up this blog! It's very interesting to see what students around the world are eating. Also I'm very proud of your goal to raise money for a good cause. I agree with the others: you are a very, very special young lady. :)

Something good out of the bad. If it wasn't for the backlash I saw on Twitter over what happened I never would have found this blog. You do a wonderful job! I wish there were more children like you. You are one special little girl.

Just ran across your blog (linked from a story on Associated Press about your blog being shut down). Simply love the concept, especially the international lunch pics! Hope you are allowed to continue. Many blessings, John (Towson, Maryland, USA)

Hi VEG, I am a first time reader of your blog and really happy to hear that yesterday's dilema has been worked out! You have done some pretty amazing philanthropic work raising money for a school lunch program. That takes a lot of dedication and to come out of a 9-year old girl is extrodinary. You are very lucky to have such a supportive family, sounds like dad is one proud parent! (which he should be!) You have been the topic of discussion at work today and around the world. I find it very facinating being from Canada to see what students are eating in Scotland, and other places. Don't let them tell you that you can't take simple photographs because you are using them for the greater good. Your blog is very well written, humourus and all together a joy to follow. I couldnt resist donating to help you reach your goal!Keep doing what your doing because you are an inspiration to everyone around the world.

I heard about your blog on the Radio 2 news this afternoon and just want to say how fantastic it is! I love seeing your meals and your writing is very entertaining. What a good idea to ask other children to send in photos of their school lunches too.

My friend told me to take a look at your blog, because she knew I'd have a special interest in what you're doing. You see, I also wrote a blog about my school's cafeteria food: wouldyoueatthat.tumblr.com. But I was writing about my university's food. I was forced to stop writing. I'm so glad you haven't stopped. And hope you never do. Because, let me tell you, school lunches are almost always sub par -- even at the college level. I hope schools across the world are inspired by your blog to create healthier, less processed meals. Keep up the good work.

Hi Veg! Greetings from Los Angeles California. I'd like to commend you on all your great work and wish you continued success in making the world a better place. You are an inspiration to us all (even an old guy like me!)

You so completely deserve all the support you have recieved today and I can't wait to see you continuing your brilliant blog. The world is lucky to have people like you in it. You are SUCH an inspiration.

I heard about you on the news on the BBC today and I think what you ar doing is really brilliant. It shows great initiative - something that is sadly lacking in Britain today. Keep up the good work and keep on doing good for those who are less fortunate than ourselves. You are great!

Congratulations and looking forward to more dinner pictures! I bet you had no idea it would be this popular and make such a difference in so many people's lives. . . PS : I'm from Boston, find it on your globe!

Just woke up in New Zealand and have been reading your story. You are a truly remarkable young lady. Keep up the posts, I look forward to continuing to read on about your lunches! I'll certainly get my kids to join in too!

I emailed one of our local TV stations - I reckon they'd be nuts not to run a story about you!Keep up the fantastic work!

Only found out about this blog today via http://www.covetcollectconnect.com giving you a special mention in their Friday Flowers - but as a mother of 2 I am so impressed by what you are doing, not only in terms of the school meals saga, but also by using the tools you have around you to enhance what you are learning, and develop your skills. I'm proud to be raising your generation and hope that my kids grow into such special, dedicated girls. Good to see you back, and I hope to hear a lot more about your meals (I'm now reconsidering school meals for my 7 year old!!)

Congratulations on getting your access to photo-taking re-instated. It is a credit to you that someone so young can make such a change in such a short space of time, you should be very proud of yourself. Thank you for doing what you are doing in showing that young people do have a mind and can speak it in a mature way. Well Done. Love Dawn - Staffordshire.

Thank you. I believe that one should strive to make themselves better, here you have made your situation/self better and your environment, and you have done this with out being negative or destructive. Thank you.

I have e-mailed your story to all three of my local television news program departments in my home city of Denver Colorado USA. I have asked them to report your in their broadcasts. Wouldn't it be awesome to hit 1/4, 1/2 or even a million pounds donated to Mary's?

4 million and rising now! Well done Veg, good to hear that the council saw sense, and congratulations on raising a HUGE amount of money for a really worthy cause. Your dad and the school deserve some praise for being so supportive too, keep it up!

Congratulations on being back to blogging again! I've been reading your blog since the beginning (although I have never commented)and look forward to reading it everyday,you are really making a change and you should be proud of yourself Veg! :D

I think this is an important lesson to all 'officialdom' on the power of social media. I work in food and some of the earlier photos were really shocking to me but at least from my perspective, things seemed to be improving. Why hide when things are getting better? Loved the fact as soon as I heard the story and went on twitter it was trending! How much has your readership increased today???

As a new reader since this made the headlines, I'm really pleased to hear that the ban was overturned. This is a wonderful project and you should feel really proud of yourself for raising so much money for a charity. I look forward to reading more (and working my way through previous posts!).

I think you are quite an amazing young girl. What a fabulous concept you have created and I will now be reading everyday. You are one special lady and if the world was full of more people like you just imagine how good it would be. Clever you, keep up, never be discouraged! I am 40 years old and a mother of 4 and I am in awe of you!!! x

YOU young lady are the voice of every school pupil in the United Kingdom, I am SO pleased this silly ban has been over ruled and I will be checking in daily to keep up with you and further congratulations on raising so much for your charity, you are truly a wonderful person with a huge heart!

Hi VEG - So glad that the council came to their senses about your pictures. Have only read your blog tonight and I think that what you are doing is great. The money you have raised so far is brilliant. Will make sure that I read this everyday from now on but i think that all your followers are going to have withdrawal symptoms when you are on your summer holidays!!

Heard your good news on BBC2 while working here in Austin, Texas. Congratulations on your efforts for Mary's Meals and overcoming the bureaucrats! Now with your summer holiday’s starting I’d love to see photos of some of the meals that you and your family are making at the farm.

Well done VEG, you've reached the 4 million mark in record time. Looking forward to more. I'll certainly be checking in to see how you getting on. You do know that your news has been picked up by a large number of the tech blogs in the United States to expect a flurry of activity when they wake up!

Heard your good news on BBC2 while working here in Austin, Texas. Congratulations on your efforts for Mary's Meals and overcoming the bureaucrats! Now with your summer holiday’s starting I’d love to see photos of some of the meals that you and your family are making at the farm.

I'm sorry to hear that you cannot take photos of the food they give you at school. Sometimes, when a person sees something that is wrong, instead of fixing the problem, they pretend it isn't there. They pretend nothing is wrong, because if they accept that there is something wrong with whatever it is (School dinners, art, work, health etc)... Then they have to change.

I think your blog is fantastic, because it shows what people are eating at other schools. There is your school lunches, and lunches at other schools. This sort of sharing of information is great, because you learn new things. When you learn something new, you say to yourself "They do things that way... Why don't I?" and you get new ideas, and learn more about other people too.

So yes, your school is being mean. They don't want to change the way they cook food. They probably don't have enough money to make better food. Or the people making the food don't want to really work all that hard and are lazy. After all, pasta with sauce is something anyone can make. But a healthy lunch costs more, and requires a bit more work, and some items expire faster than dry pasta in a bag in a closet.

...But on the plus side, think of all the things you have learned. If you think school dinners around the world is interesting, wait until you see how they all do everything differently. Whether it be talking in a different language, or the kinds of food they cook. The world is a big and interesting place, with lots to discover.

As for your school, they're just afraid. You now have more power than they do. You can make a big difference if you want to. You don't need to be old to be smart. People are like cars. It's not the years, it's the mileage. That just means, what makes a car old isn't how old it's been on the planet... It's how far it has driven. How far it has gone.

Congratulations on your victory today. I am a mum of three older daughters who like yourself ate many school dinners within Argyll & Bute Schools. They always felt that the choices were very limited and that the portions were certainly not value for money. More importantly many of the meals served up in schools were not nutritionally balanced.

I remember one instance at John Logie Baird Primary School in Helensburgh a few years ago when my youngest daughter was told by the kitchen staff that she had to take chips with her meal choice - this was despite her saying that she didn't want chips as they weren't healthy. She was told that she had to take them as she had to have a potato option with that meal and that chips were the only potato option available!

I contacted the school at the time, and then the local authority who stood by their policy!

Our family who now lives in another area of Scotland, is so delighted that you have given the world such an honest and open view of school meals. Both bad and good. What is nice is that there are really good meals served up as well as not so good meals. But this whole situation has highlighted the pettiness of the local authority.

What saddened me most about your situation is that you were taken out of a maths class to be told that you could no longer take photos of your school dinners.

Well done for changing the attitudes of a powerful force and bringing so much admiration from so many people around the world. I am sure that you will go a long way in this world.

Brilliant to see you back online and blogging. What a rollercoaster of emotions for you over the last day or two, but put all that fuss behind you now, enjoy the spotlight and keep on raising those much needed funds for Mary's Meals. Keep up the good work.

I just read an article about you on another blog, and I can't believe I haven't heard of you before today! I encourage you to keep writing and taking pictures, and not only enjoying & having fun, but opening peoples' minds to the food and fuel they put into their bodies! :) Good job & I commend you! I'm going to follow your blog now. Well done!

This is such an engaging blog and I have read it from start to finish this evening, enjoying each and every post. Sometimes negative publicity can work in your favour, as you are finding out! Your pageview counter is spinning round as I write!

You have a great style of writing, keeping the reader's interest with humour as well as facts. I have loved all the photos, both yours and those from around the world, and I am impressed at how quickly you find each place on the globe.

I used to be a primary school teacher and I'd have been so happy if one of my pupils had kept a blog like this. I'm now a full-time mum of three children. My son is nearly 9 and I am going to show him your blog tomorrow; I know he will enjoy it.

A very big "well done" on your brilliant fundraising. You are amazing!

You are doing such a great job! Read about your blog on Facebook and read through it all whilst at work today. I'm glad to see that you'll be back to it on Monday, this blog is very inspirational. I hope that it will help children around the world through Mary's Meals and I also hope it will help schools provide better school lunches, especially here in America where good nutrition is lacking. Good for you, Veg! I'm glad your blog is so popular, you're a great job!

Well done VEG. I am so glad you posted this evening and that everyone got you back on track. Unfortunately I don't have any money at the moment to add but as soon as I do I will. You show what is so good in this world even on a bad day. You are an inspiration :-)